Newcastle United’s clash with Brighton, along with six other FA Cup ties this weekend, will have Semi Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) in operation this weekend.
All matches taking place at Premier League stadiums this weekend will, for the first time in English football history, have SAOT in operation. Only the Lancashire derby between Burnley and Preston North End will not have the technology available.
That match will have VAR in operation this weekend, however. VAR has not been used yet in this season’s FA Cup but will be used in all eight Fifth Round matches and beyond.
SAOT has been used in UEFA competitions since its introduction at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and was expected to be implemented by the Premier League – but that start date has been pushed back. If successful this weekend, then SAOT could be implemented in the top-flight before the end of the season.
Earlier this month, the FA confirmed that they would be trialling the technology in the Fifth Round and have recently published an update on both how SAOT works and what fans in stadiums and watching at home on TV can expect to see if and when the technology is used to make a decision.
The FA provided an explanation on how SAOT will work, revealing each stadium has been fitted with new cameras to be able to operate the technology: ‘The system uses up to 30 newly-installed cameras mounted around Premier League stadiums – with several capturing footage at 100 frames per second, twice the frame rate of typical broadcast cameras.
‘The cameras track the exact movement of the ball as well as up to 10,000 surface ‘mesh’ data points per player – meaning the technology will track to see if any attacking player involved in the build-up to any incident was offside. These are then ‘flagged’ automatically in SAOT software to the VAR and SAOT operator.’
What happens when a decision is made?
If a decision is made by SAOT on Sunday, then fans at St James’ Park and those at home will see a visual of the decision broadcast on the St James’ Park giant screen and on the broadcast coverage of the match.
Expanding on what this visual would feature, the FA wrote: ‘This will feature a 3D virtual replay of the relevant players identifiable by each team’s kit. An offside decision will be shown with a red line and onside with a green line. A white vertical wall will represent the offside line, with a blue ‘pulse’ on the defender’s relevant body part.
‘When an attacker is offside, the part of their body which is offside will appear through the white wall and be outlined in red. The final image in the virtual replay will be on an angle, off-centre, to provide a clear view of the attacker and defender involved in the offside review and the ‘pulse’ will no longer be displayed.
‘There will be no overlay with broadcast footage – the replays will cut away to the decision visual. This allows for the decision to be displayed as quickly as possible.’
FA Cup Fifth Round fixtures
28/02 – Aston Villa v Cardiff City (8pm)
01/03 – Crystal Palace v Millwall (12:15pm)
01/03 – Preston North End v Burnley (12:15pm)
01/03 – AFC Bournemouth v Wolves (3pm)
01/03 – Manchester City v Plymouth Argyle (5:45pm)
02/03 – Newcastle United v Brighton and Hove Albion (1:45pm)
02/03 – Manchester United v Fulham (4:30pm)
03/03 – Nottingham Forest v Ipswich Town (7:30pm)
